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https://archive.org/details/cyrusgreattapestOOharv 


CYRUS  THE  GREAT 


TAPESTRIES 


at  the 

HARVARD  CLUB 
New  York,  1916 


(Courtesy  of  P.  W.  FRENCH  & CO.) 


The  Story  of  Cyrus  the  Great 

Founder  of  the  Persian  Empire,  as  told  in  a set  of  seven- 
teenth century  Brussels  tapestries , having  an  average 
height  of  eleven  feet , six  inches 


This  set  of  Cyrus  the  Great  tapestries,  signed  with 
the  Brussels  mark  and  the  monogram  GM,  was  made 
by  Michel  van  Glabeke  at  Brussels  in  the  first  half  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  one  of  the  few  sets  ever 
woven  to  picture  the  Story  of  Cyrus.  The  only  other 
important  surviving  set  with  which  I am  acquainted  is 
the  Renaissance  one  in  the  Royal  Spanish  Collection. 
Both  sets  have  Latin  apothegms  in  the  bottom  border, 
appropriate  to  the  story.  The  one  in  the  tapestries 
before  us  is:  ROBVR  ET  VIS  PRVDENTIE  IVNCTA 
OMNIA  SVPERANT.  This  reads,  translated: 
“Strength  and  Force  united  to  Wisdom  conquer  all 
Things.” 

Borders  and  panels  are  in  all  details  of  style  charac- 
teristic of  the  period.  The  costumes  are  based  on 


Roman,  with  seventeenth  century  adaptations.  The 
use  of  the  Roman  ax  and  fasces  in  tapestry  IV;  and  of 
the  double  eagle  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  on  the 
stomacher  of  Cyrus  in  tapestries  III,  IV,  VII,  though 
anachronistic  to  the  extreme,  is  in  keeping  with  similar 
anachronisms  of  other  tapestries  of  the  period. 

Until  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  B.  C.,  the 
name  Persian  was  confined  to  the  tribes  inhabiting 
the  southwestern  part  of  what  is  now  called  Persia. 
They  were  subject  to  the  Medes  who  inhabited  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  same  country.  The  king  of 
the  Medes  was  As ty ages  (B.  C.  584-550).  Astyages 
had  a daughter,  Mandane,  married  to  Cambyses,  the 
leader  of  a clan  of  one  of  the  Persian  tribes.  Astyages 
dreamed  that  he  saw  grow  from  Mandane’s  body  a 
vine  that  covered  all  Asia.  The  Magi  (Wise  Men) 
declared  that  this  meant  Mandane’s  son  would  take 
away  his  grandfather’s  crown.  To  prevent  this, 
Astyages  sent  for  his  daughter  to  visit  him,  and  when 
the  child  Cyrus  was  born,  gave  it  to  his  prime-minister, 
Harpagus,  with  instructions  to  have  it  put  to  death. 
Harpagus  gave  Cyrus  to  a shepherd,  Mithridates 
( tapestry  /),  with  instructions  to  expose  him  on  a 
mountain  frequented  by  wild  beasts.  Mithridates 


took  the  child  home  to  his  wife  ( tapestry  II)  who  had 
just  given  birth  to  a dead  child.  This  she  exposed 
instead  of  Mandane’s  son,  and  brought  him  up  among 
the  shepherds  as  her  own  son.  When  Cyrus  reached 
the  age  of  ten,  he  was  one  day  chosen  king  by  his 
playmates,  and  as  king  had  one  of  the  boys  beaten  who 
refused  to  obey  him.  The  boy’s  father  complained  to 
Astyages,  who  summoned  Cyrus  into  his  presence,  and 
recognized  him  by  his  features  and  his  proud  spirit  as 
the  son  of  Mandane.  Harpagus  and  the  shepherd, 
when  called  before  the  king,  admitted  the  truth. 
Astyages  pardoned  the  shepherd,  but  inflicted  on 
Harpagus  a cruel  and  barbarous  punishment  that  the 
latter  never  forgot.  As  for  Cyrus,  the  Magi  said  the 
dream  had  been  accomplished  when  Cyrus  was  chosen 
king  by  playmates.  So  Astyages,  fearing  him  no 
more,  sent  him  to  Mandane  and  Cambyses,  who  re- 
ceived him  as  one  raised  from  the  dead.  When  Cyrus 
came  of  age,  Harpagus,  who  nursed  a bitter  desire  for 
revenge  on  Astyages,  sent  a secret  message  to  Cyrus, 
bidding  him  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Persians 
and  shake  off  the  yoke  of  the  Medes,  who  being  weary 
of  the  tyranny  of  their  king,  would  offer  little  resist- 
ance. Cyrus  found  the  suggestion  good,  and  acted 
upon  it.  When  Astyages  learned  that  Cyrus  was  or- 


ganizing  rebellion  among  the  Persians,  he  raised  an 
army,  at  the  head  of  which  he  placed  Harpagus. 
When  the  armies  met,  Harpagus,  followed  by  most  of 
his  troops,  deserted  to  Cyrus.  Astyages  then  raised 
another  army,  in  order  to  resist  the  invaders.  Cyrus 
and  Harpagus,  after  a long  campaign  ( tapestry  III), 
finally  captured  Astyages  himself  ( tapestry  IV),  who 
passed  the  rest  of  his  life  as  the  subject  of  his  own 
grandson.  Thus  did  the  empire  of  the  Persians  succeed 
that  of  the  Medes  in  the  year  550  B.  C.  Jealous  of 
Cyrus,  the  other  great  powers,  Babylon,  Egypt, 
Sparta  and  Lydia,  decided  to  combine  against  him  in 
546  B.  C.  under  the  leadership  of  the  Lydian  king, 
Croesus.  Cyrus  attacked  and  defeated  Croesus  before 
the  others  arrived  ( tapestry  V),  and  made  Lydia  a 
Persian  province.  In  B.  C.  539,  Cyrus  defeated  the 
Babylonians,  and  annexed  that  mighty  state  to  Persia. 
From  the  beginning  of  B.  C.  538,  Cyrus  describes  him- 
self as  “King  of  Babylonia  and  King  of  the  Countries” 
{i.e.  of  the  world).  That  same  year  he  set  free  the 
Jews  ( tapestry  VI),  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  had  trans- 
ported to  Babylonia.  He  also  allowed  them  to  return 
to  Palestine  and  rebuild  the  temple  at  Jerusalem. 
Later,  wishing  to  extend  his  empire  farther  to  the  east, 
he  sent  a messenger  to  Tomyris,  Queen  of  the  Mas- 


sagetae  in  Central  Asia,  east  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  asking 
her  hand  in  marriage  ( tapestry  VII).  She,  desiring  to 
keep  the  throne  for  her  young  son,  refused  the  offer. 
In  the  war  that  followed,  Cyrus  was  defeated  and 
killed,  but  the  empire  he  had  created  lived  after  him. 

George  Leland  Hunter,  ’89 


TAPESTRY  I 


Eight  Feet , Six  Inches  Wide 


Harpagus  gives  the 
infant  Cyrus  to  the  shep- 
herd Mithridates. 


TAPESTRY  II 


Eight  Eeet , Six  Inches  Wide 


Mithridates  gives  the 
infant  Cyrus  to  his  wife. 


TAPESTRY  III 


Twelve  Feet,  Six  Inches  Wide 


Cyrus , with  the  help  of 
Harpagus,  conquers  the 
Medes. 


TAPESTRY  V 


Twelve  Feet,  Eight  Inches  Wide 


Cyrus  defeats  and  captures 
Croesus , King  of  Lydia. 


TAPESTRY  VII 


Ten  Feet , Ten  Inches  Wide 


The  messenger  of  Cyrus  be- 
fore Queen  Tomyris. 


